Halo HeroClix: a spoiler warning and a toy, all in one!

WizKids will be launching a Halo 3 line of HeroClix toys, as well as a $250 …

I used to play some miniatures back in the day but really, I've always considered them even slightly below even Dungeons and Dragons on the geek scale. But we were able to set up an appointment with WizKids to talk about the Halo line of their popular HeroClix game. Heroclix is basically miniatures lite; a collectible game with characters that come prepainted and with easy-to-learn rules. While some purists may sneer at them, I like the idea that kids are getting a taste of miniatures without the high cost of entry. Besides, it's Halo!

"Bungie was great to work with," Becky Wilson from WizKids told me. "And they did have final say on all the art and models for the game."

The characters do look good and, while you can use the new Halo characters in the existing HeroClix games, there are new game mechanics in the Halo line. "You can respawn now, and you can also switch weapons," I'm told. They wanted the miniature game to be as close to the real game as possible. I look around, and I also see Aliens HeroClix, for their HorrorClix line.

"We're also working on Heroes, Heroclix," I'm told. It takes a second for me to parse that, and then I realize that their working on a miniature version of the TV show. I ask if they get all the neat spoilers. "Yeah, the artists and designers do, but they keep me far from that," I'm told. So if you want to know who has the spoilers for Heroes, season 2, look no farther than WizKids.

I was also able to look at the giant Halo 3 Scarab, a $250 toy that is fully playable in the game. A few of these have been given away at past shows, and I'm told they're going for $600 on eBay. For a miniature! For a table-top game! "Well, you can also take the stands off and just display it," they tell me.

Well, okay. That makes it worth it then.

Actually, the Scarab is very cool, the Halo toys looked great, and I've even been told that there will be new characters you'll be able to see in the HeroClix before the game comes out. "You'll see new Flood characters, for instance," Becky tells me. Excellent.